South Korean-Saudi investors to fund $6B Wadi Gedid solar plant

Oct. 05, 2014 18:00

Muharram Helal, head of the 10th of Ramadan Investors Association - YOUM7 (Archive)

By THE CAIRO POST

CAIRO: A joint South Korean-Saudi delegation will visit Cairo in October to finish all required preparation for establishing a $6 billion solar plant in the Wadi Gedid governorate, Youm7 reported Sunday.

The new plant will be financed by South Korea and Saudi Arabia and the construction will start once all required licenses are completed, Muharram Helal, head of the 10th of Ramadan Investors Association, told Youm7 Sunday.

He added that solar power facilities will help the country out of the current power crisis and alleviate pressure on the State budget, as billions of pounds are allocated to energy subsidies.

Helal said in a previous statement on Aug. 18 that the government “represented in the Ministry of Electricity” should define the tariffs of the electricity generated from renewable energy, as not doing so is considered the core reason for private companies not investing in renewable energy projects.

Over the past three years, Egypt has been suffering through a power shortage and frequent rolling blackouts and power cuts have become a source of public ire.

On Aug. 16, the Ministry of Petroleum ordered an additional 6 million tons of oil in response to the Ministry of Electricity’s urgent calls to avoid more power cuts, Al-Mal reported Saturday.